HOW MANY EXTRA SHIFTS do hospitalists work? Data from our survey show that on average, adult hospitalists put in an extra 1.7 shifts per month although the number is lower for pediatric hospitalists: 1.2 extra shifts per month.
Just under 40% of hospitalists said they work no extra shifts. That number was highest among hospitalists working at universities and medical schools (47.6%) and lowest for hospitalists working at national hospitalist management companies (29%).
Academic hospitalists reported working fewer extra shifts monthly (0.8) compared to their nonacademic colleagues (1.8). And nocturnists said they work the fewest extra shifts (1 per month) of all hospitalists.
Among hospitalists working seven-on/seven-off, the number of extra shifts per month was the average: 1.7. Hospitalists working other types of daytime schedules reported 1.8 extra shifts per month.
Here’s a look at other factors that affect the amount of additional shifts that hospitalists work per month.
Extra shifts and employer type
Hospitalists with national hospitalist management companies reported taking on more extra shifts per month—2.4—than any other group in our survey. Here’s a comparison of extra shifts based on employer types:
Extra shifts per month by employer type
• Nat. hosp. mgmt. co.: 2.4
• Local hospitalist group: 2.0
• Hospital/hospital corp.: 1.6
• Multispecialty/PC group: 1.6
• University/med. school: 1.2
Extra shifts and geographic region
By geographic region, hospitalists in the Midwest reported the most extra shifts per month: 2.3. In other parts of the country, most hospitalists reported working nearly one shift a month less.
Here’s how many extra shifts hospitalists work around the country:
Extra shifts per month by geography
• Midwest: 2.3
• Southwest: 1.6
• Pacific: 1.6
• Northeast: 1.5
• South: 1.5
• Mountain: 0.8
Extra shifts and patient volumes
The number of extra shifts hospitalists work per month appears to spike up among physicians with higher patient volumes.
Hospitalists with lower volumes—nine or fewer patient encounters a shift—reported working 1.1 extra shift a month. Hospitalists with 18 to 20 patient encounters a shift, by comparison, reported nearly twice as many extra shifts per month: 2.1.
Here’s what survey data say about extra shifts based on patient volumes:
Extra shifts per month by patients per shift
• ≤9: 1.1
• 10-14: 1.4
• 15-17: 1.7
• 18-20: 2.1
• ≥21: 1.7
Impact on satisfaction and burnout
As for the impact of working extra shifts on job satisfaction and burnout, our survey produced conflicting data.
Hospitalists who reported working more extra shifts reported higher levels of job satisfaction, but they also reported that burnout was more significant. Here are the data:
Extra shifts per month and career satisfaction
• Very satisfied: 1.9
• Satisfied: 1.6
• Dissatisfied: 1.6
Extra shifts per month and burnout
• Very significant: 1.9
• Significant: 1.7
• Insignificant: 1.2
VIEW DATA ON HOSPITALIST PAY from both the 2024 and the 2023 Today’s Hospitalist Compensation & Career Surveys. Our annual surveys examine how hospitalist compensation is affected by factors such as the type of patients hospitalists treat, the number of shifts they work, the number of patients they see per shift and more.
